Business Ousourcing Strategy

Executive Summary Business enterprises, both profit, and non-profit organisation have adopted outsourcing as a viable way of increasing effectiveness and efficiency. To assess the factors leading to outsourcing, this study delves into the outsourcing strategy used by the University of Wisconsin (UW), as well as the challenges they face in the implementation process.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Business Ousourcing Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As such, this report is in a position of highlighting the reasons behind adopting alternative outsourcing, and this facilitates understanding of the costs and benefit of such a venture in relation to other institutions as well as the private entities. The findings were attained through a review of literature as well as through an ethnographic study in the school setting, which comprised of students, the staff, and members of legal authorities. This study is c onsistent with Hirschheim (2009: 19) findings, as it affirms that though the outsourcing companies tend to obtain the same benefits, not all can apply the same outsourcing strategy. This study highlighted how outsourcing in public entities is different from private entities, the benefits and challenges of outsourcing in public entities, as well as recommendation for improving the alternative outsourcing in higher learning institutions. This report brings to light the rationale behind outsourcing services as a business management practice. Introduction In the recent past, outsourcing services have been on the increase, with both profit and non-profit organisations considering it as an effective business managerial practice. The University of Wisconsin (UW) is one of the institutions that have adopted outsourcing services in an effort to increase efficiency in the provision of its services. The application of outsourcing, though, is compounded with many facets. Hence, this necessitate s a suitable framework for evaluating the extent to which the university is able to uphold outsourcing as a business managerial practice. As a result, the institution has already interviewed the chief business officers, the purchasing officer, as well as the physical plant directors.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More More so, a number of interviews have already been conducted with the University’s office of procurement staff, the capital planning /budget staff, and the financial administration staff. However, a successful report on outsourcing for this institution necessitates a review of the literature on outsourcing in higher education institutions. Literature Review A vast majority of the higher education institutions has adopted diverse outsourcing strategies owing to tighter budgets and increased pressure on accountability (Hirschheim 2006: 269). These institutions have taken the approach of outsourcing a number of services, including the provision of food, bookstore operations, laundry services, and air conditioning, among others. A survey carried out in 1999 indicates that outsourcing in the food sector in higher education institutions has gone on for a number of decades, with only 5.3 percent of national colleges not undertaking the strategy (University Microfilms International. 2009). Indeed, a vast majority of the UW institutions had already adopted outsourcing services decades ago. Since then, there has been a significant increase in outsourcing services within the public sector, including higher education institutions (Chi, Jasper, Scott 1998: 23). However, even though outsourcing has been faced with limited resources since then, the move has facilitated meeting the needs of many institutions, according to Chi, Arnold, Perkins (2003). More so, the study of outsourcing continues to facilitate the success of outsourcing in higher educa tion institutions. Achieving this success, however, calls for an outsourcing strategy that is congruent with the business operations within a given institution. As such, the UW adopted the statutory and administrative framework in 1981(Chi, Jasper, Scott 1998: 27). This framework aimed at highlighting the advantages of using management controls rather than engaging in contract arrangements.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Business Ousourcing Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More More so, the institution’s legislature, through its commission, highlighted the rationale behind outsourcing through privatization strategies in 1995 (Chi, Arnold, Perkins 2003). This commission was tasked with the role of evaluating strategies of saving the taxpayers money through outsourcing services to the private sectors. Three strategies came into play while evaluating the strategies of saving taxpayers money: politics, cost, and strategy. The UW institutions are aware that while cost is one of the major factors that trigger a company to adopt outsourcing, the success of outsourcing is also faced with many controversies. The savings on cost emanates from the fact that if an institution adopts an outsourcing service that eliminates some of its indirect costs, such as some employees, infrastructure, and training requirements. Then the company is expected to save significantly on overhead costs. However, outsourcing can sometimes result to an increase in costs. This cost emanates from monitoring the service, contract generation, and transition costs, among others (Hunter 2006: 57). Additionally, the UW is aware that strategy elicits a company to adopt outsourcing due to the high rate of technology innovation. Therefore, it is necessary for the UW institutions to ensure that the students’ needs are congruent with the current technology trend in order to meet their demand. In cases where the cur rent technology becomes obsolete, the UW institutions should use the appropriate outsourcing company for business transformation. In this case, the use of strategy involves increasing the level of accuracy through the development of modern technology systems such as the application of computer software. Lastly, the UW is cognizant of the political strategy of outsourcing within the institution. Thus, the outsourcing strategy of this institution does not take due consideration of the market demand or the need of achieving profit.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The grounds of setting up outsourcing strategy in a higher education institution highly depends on social factors rather than the economic factors, making the outcome to be based on the well-being of public (DiStefano, Rudestam, Silverman 2004:364 ). Therefore, the UW values the well-being of the members of the institution over cost and strategy. Additionally, the outsourcing strategy of UW institutions is influenced by public opinion, elected officials, as well as national/international trends. While the private entities engage in outsourcing services in a bid to reduce cost and adopt new technology, the public entities engage in outsourcing services to provide general welfare to the public(Khosrowpour 2003: 64). However, both companies tend to achieve the same benefits of outsourcing. Environment analysis (external and internal) One of the external factors that affect the outsourcing services is lack of suppliers in cases where the mission of one of the entity differs from the mi ssion of other entities. For case in point, outsourcing for higher education institution is faced with inadequate suppliers who have expertise on maintenance of schools’ laboratory equipments such as microscopes and telescopes, hence limiting the chances of outsourcing such services. Additionally, pressure emanating from the political leaders is an external factor that affects outsourcing of the UW institutions (Amaral, Meek, Larsen 2003: 245). This stems from the fact that, unlike the private entities, the public institutions do not make decisions with the aim of making a profit or reducing the cost of business operations(Kretovics 2011: 125). Thus, their decisions on outsourcing are highly influenced by political leaders, national/international trends, as well as the current opinion of the public. Outsourcing is also influenced by internal factors such as the opinion of people who have a stand in the decision-making process. More so, managers of the institutions influence the outsourcing process even though they lack formal influence on the process. Thus, institutions face hidden influences emanating from such managers, and hence face a challenge while evaluating the degree to which they can adopt outsourcing services. The degree to which an institution should adopt outsourcing services is also influenced by legal factors such as suppliers’ contract, agreements with the union, and initiatives of the minority, among others (McBurnie Ziguras 2007: 156). The presence of many legal requirements serves the role of reducing the chances of outsourcing services within a higher learning institution. Additionally, the outsourcing service for an institution is faced with a conflict of interest, with the supplier being forced to act in a manner that contravenes other interests (Derose 1999: 76). The presence of suppliers coming up with innovation can mislead the outsourcing company, making the company to buy product/services that are not viable. Because of this, the decision-making process of the outsourcing company is delayed since the decision-makers of the outsourcing organization are unaware of whether the supplier wants to make additional profit or whether the proposed innovation is viable. The other environmental factor experienced by outsourcing company is the competitors’ behavior (Kumar 2006: 16). This is based on establishing whether the competitors have adopted the outsourcing services in a bid to evaluate whether it is a worthwhile goal. This shows that outsourcing companies, as well as the suppliers, are faced with high levels of uncertainty when it comes to evaluating its authenticity. As a result, the suppliers are forced to charge more due to the uncertainty of risks involved in the process. Analysis of existing outsourcing strategy The UW institutions outsourcing procedure are based on the statutory framework, which entirely depends on the results obtained from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau study that was ca rried out in 1981 (Redovich 2005: 94). More so, this bureau provides tips on how the institution can improve on the outsourcing sector. This study highlighted the management controls while carrying out business managerial practices rather than adopting contractual service agreements. The framework used provides the state agencies with an opportunity to purchases services for the UW institutions. In this case, the Bureau of Procurement is the purchasing agent for the state, and is tasked with this role providing services internally as well as outsourcing them, while the Department of Administration (DOA) is tasked with the role of evaluating the services that are economical within the institution from the ones that necessitate outsourcing (Redovich 2005: 95). Moreover, the Board of Regents Policy facilitates management of cost and provision of quality services in the UW institutions by encouraging cooperation between the institutions. However, the institutions have not yet come up wi th a standardized procedure that should be used as a criterion for evaluating the services that should be handled internally from the ones that necessitate outsourcing services. Purchase of library materials, including the IT department materials, is the responsibility of the institution’s Administration Office of Procurement. The office, however, gives direction to auxiliary managers on decisions relative to outsourcing. This office is tasked with the role of evaluating outsourcing from the basis of cost analysis obtained from previous experiences of other companies. Additionally, the office is responsible for providing contract template in cases where a decision has already been made regarding outsourcing. Identification and critical evaluation of alternative outsourcing strategies There was a need of carrying out a study aimed at establishing the validity of the outsourcing procedure at the UW institution. This study meticulously analysed the outsourcing strategies through a framework that contains 5 stages: the rationale for outsourcing, the unique factors relative to outsourcing in higher education institutions, the factors contributing to successful outsourcing, the trends of outsourcing in the higher education institutions, and the future/growth of outsourcing in the UW institutions (Siegel 2010: 53). Method The method used in the critical evaluation of alternative outsourcing strategies stemmed the following sources: An analysis of literature review based on alternative outsourcing in a bid to come up with relevant questions. An intense consultation with all the staff responsible for outsourcing services within the school through the focus groups. A quantitative and qualitative survey of a sample size consisted of all people who have a declaration on outsourcing services. A case study analysis aimed at establishing alternative outsourcing strategies in an effort to highlight the lessons learned through outsourcing services. Key Findings The li terature on alternative outsourcing in the higher learning institutions portrayed that a vast majority of these institutions uphold alternative outsourcing because it served as a cost reduction strategy, it facilitated upgrading and adopting to new technologies, and it assured financial results (DiStefano, Rudestam, Silverman 2004: 364). For case in point, after weighing the advantages and disadvantages of alternative outsourcing, the George Mason University adopted outsourcing services in the dormitories, parking, bookstore, as well as mail delivery sector. The City Colleges of Chicago outsourced financial operations such as purchases of products and payroll in order to eradicate inability to concentrate on the school’s mission. The University of Miami adopted outsourcing services for acquisition of maintenance materials as well as stocking its medical center. The University of Texas carried out a cost-benefit analysis and acknowledged alternative outsourcing services in th e area of accommodation facilities (Francis 2006: 141-148). However, it was imperative to note that the alternative outsourcing does not always lead to a positive result. By reviewing the literature, it was apparent that the Pennsylvania University was faced with unsuccessful maintenance service due to a number of limitations experienced by the supplier. Additionally, we were able to verify that the Radford University experienced unsuccessful results from the supplier after the supply closed the business (DiStefano, Rudestam, Silverman 2004: 365-373). Hence, we noted quite a number of outsourcing inadequacies emanating from the suppliers, such as poor communication, poor defined performance criteria, poor monitoring of the outsourcing services contract. However, reviewing of literature in all these institutions was paramount because it facilitated evaluation of alternative outsourcing strategies through benchmarking the UW institutions with the other institutions carrying out outso urcing as a business management practice. Through holding intense consultation with all the staff responsible for outsourcing services within the school, we were able to confirm that the alternative outsourcing for higher learning institutions are characterised by unique factors that, in turn, affect business decisions (Hirschheim 2009: 19). Some of these factors include the following: The school’s mission/vision statement; The hours of services, especially for the laboratory and libraries, which call for regular janitorial services from the supplier; and The academic calendar resulting in low and high season, thus affecting affective sustainability of the supplier; and The decision-making process, which calls for consultation between the staff and the students Through the quantitative and the qualitative survey, we were able to identify quite a number of statutory requirements that play the role of complicating alternative outsourcing. These factors helped us evaluate alte rnative outsourcing strategies. Some of them include the following: The length of the contract, as a contract in the UW, is renewed once in 5-7 years; The employee bargaining agreement that creates a conflict between employees and the suppliers; and Funding restrictions owing to the fact that the UW institutions do not receive additional funds even in cases of inflation Choice of solution (s) and justification of the course of action that the organisation should follow Owing to the advantages associated with outsourcing in the UW, it is imperative for the UW institution to identify and follow strategies that help to achieve a smooth running of the operations. Therefore, the institution should develop an outsourcing framework that takes into account the ability to have an open discussion with the supplier on a regular basis, provides an opportunity for joint procure agreements between the outsourcing company and the supplier, and creates an avenue for collaborative agreements with other institutions on the criteria of outsourcing their services (Dominguez 2006: 45). In doing so, the outsourcing services in the institution will have an opportunity of expanding its operation with the outsourcing company at a reduced cost that takes into account the welfare of the public. Conclusion Outsourcing in UW institutions reflects a vital business management operation that is faced with logistical challenges. However, its functions cannot be overlooked since it has managed to resolve a number of business dilemmas such as tight budgets, accountability in the academic sector, and the escalating student demand. Hence, it is accredited for the high reductions in cost, adaptation to innovation, and public satisfaction within the higher learning institutions. Because of this, many institutions have taken the approach of adopting alternative outsourcing in various sectors within the higher learning institutions. The UW institutions provide us with the knowledge that they have b een outsourcing their services for a number of decades and that these institutions are relentlessly evaluating the services that necessitate effective alternative outsourcing. As such, the administration holds backs sensitive services such as budget allocation and staff constraint. Additionally, the institutions provide us with knowledge that there are differences on the choice of services outsourced by the UW institutions, stating that this depends highly on the size of the institution, as well as the location of the institution, among other factors. However, centralization of the alternative outsourcing can only be achieved through collaborative efforts between the institutions, as well as between the federal laws and the UW institutions. List Of References Amaral, A., Meek, V. L., Larsen, I. M. 2003. The higher education managerial revolution?. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Chi, K.S., Arnold, K.A., Perkins, H.M. 2003. Privatization in State Government:  Trends and Is sues. Web. Chi, K. S., Jasper, C., Scott, M. J.1998. Private practices: A review of privatization in state government: full report. Lexington, KY, Council of State Governments. Derose, G. J. 1999. Outsourcing: Training education. Alexandria, VA, American Society for Training Development. DiStefano, A., Rudestam, K. E., Silverman, R. J. 2004. Encyclopedia of distributed learning. Thousand Oaks, Calif, Sage Publications. Dominguez, L. R. 2006. The manager’s step-by-step guide to outsourcing. New York, McGraw-Hill. Francis, P. H. 2006. Reconstructing alma mater: The coming crisis in higher education, a blueprint for reform. New York, Algora Pub. Hirschheim, R. 2009. Information Systems Outsourcing: Enduring Themes, Global Challenges, and Process Opportunities. Berlin, Springer. Hirschheim, R., Heinzl, A., Dibbern, J. 2006. Information systems outsourcing: Enduring themes, new perspectives, and global challenges. Berlin, Springer. Hunter, I. 2006. HR business partners. Alder shot, Hants, Gower publishers. Khosrowpour, M. 2003. Information technology and organizations: trends, issues, challenges and solutions, Volume 1. Nevada, Idea Group Inc. Kretovics, M. 2011. Business practices in higher education: A guide for today’s administrators. New York, Routledge. Kumar, G. S. 2006. Outsourcing laboratory based services: Inventing a new future for RD and testing. New Delhi, Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. Co. McBurnie, G., Ziguras, C. 2007. Transnational education: Issues and trends in offshore higher education. London, Routledge. McBurnie, G., Ziguras, C. 2007. Transnational education: Issues and trends in offshore higher education. London, Routledge. Redovich, D. W. 2005. The big con in education: Why must â€Å"all† high school graduates be prepared for college?. New York: iUniverse. Siegel, D. J. 2010. Organizing for social partnership: Higher education in cross-sector collaboration. New York, NY, Routledge. University Microfilms International. 2009. Dissertation abstracts international. A, The humanities and social sciences. Ann Arbor, MI, University Microfilms International. This essay on Business Ousourcing Strategy was written and submitted by user Sonia Whitney to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

A citizen, rights and responsibilities and antisocial behaviour The WritePass Journal

A citizen, rights and responsibilities and antisocial behaviour Introduction A citizen, rights and responsibilities and antisocial behaviour IntroductionAnti Social BehavioursTackling Anti Social Behaviour in HousingConclusionReferencesRelated Introduction The term ‘citizen’ may literally be used to refer to any person who has acquired or has the status of citizenship. The acquired status is used when the person that is conferred with the citizenship is not originally a citizen of the sovereign nation while, in effect the citizenship has to be earned through set of rules that govern the society.   According to Hardy (1997) â€Å"the status of citizen is used to denote the link between an individual and a State, a form of political organization with territorial boundaries which may encompass more than one nation†.   Citizenship is defined by Lewis (2004, p 9) as â€Å"a legal status conferred by an internationally recognised nation – state. This status accords a nationality and the right to make claims against the state and receive a share of the public goods†.   Therefore, it can be seen that when an individual has the status of a citizenship, such individual has formed a relationship with the St ate and this relationship is guided and strengthened by the citizen knowing his/her rights from the State and responsibilities to the State, community and entire neighbourhood. This project focuses on the rights and responsibilities of a citizen with respect to tenancy and how these relate to existing government policies on anti social behaviour.   The project will attempt to achieve this focus by fully describing the rights of a citizen from the State and the responsibilities of that citizen to the State, community and entire neighbourhood.   Secondly the project will carry out a review of the current government policies on anti social behaviour and how these policies relate to the rights and responsibilities of a citizen.   Thirdly, the project will conclude with summary of the overall work. Rights of a citizen When a person has the status of a citizenship, Blackburn (1994) argues that a relationship has been formed with the state which gives the citizen certain rights.   However, Marshal (1992, cited in Lewis, 2004) viewed citizenship as a relationship between the individual and a state which gives rise to 3 basic elements of rights – civil, political and social. Civil rights The civil right of a citizen represents the right to freedom of speech, expression, thought and faith and to conclude valid contracts. When a person becomes a citizen, such person has by virtue of the citizenship status acquired the right to freely express him/herself and to put forward opinions about issues affecting the that nation.   In addition, the citizenship status comes with the right to equal opportunities and social justice in that society. Political rights The political right of a citizen is the rights that allow the person to vote.   The right to vote is an opportunity to demonstrate one’s democratic rights and this is important in a democratic society.   The political right also includes the chance to participate in political process such as contesting for electoral positions and being duly elected in the political office. Social rights The social element of the right of a citizen is the right to economic welfare and to fully share the social heritages within the society.   One of the social heritages in a society is housing.   Blackburn (1994) viewed the right to housing and be housed as one of the idealistic rights of a citizen. Within the context of this project, the housing right (social right) of a citizen will be the subject for main focus. Housing right The citizen has the right to housing (Cowan and Marsh, 2001 and Blackburn, 1994). There are two main sectors in the housing market for a citizen – the owner occupied and the rented sector.   The owner occupied housing sector includes the individuals that have undertaken to purchase a property through mortgage and who live in the house by themselves.   The house that is purchased may be a leasehold or freehold, but, in either case, the government usually supports the citizens through varying the interest rates and stamp duties.   Other form of support by the government is through consultation with the mortgage lenders in reducing the amount of deposit required for the citizens to purchase their own owner occupied houses. These supports are to enable the citizen enforce their rights of housing.   The rented housing sector includes the private and public.   Private rented sector refers to those that rent out their house through short hold tenancies while the public sect or is the assured short hold tenancy.   The providers of housing to citizens in the public sector include housing associations and local authorities.   The local authorities invest in houses and allocate them to citizens on the basis of ‘first come first served’ but attention is given to those with extra-ordinary circumstance or great urgency.   The housing associations are not for profit making organisations who provide house to citizens based on their criteria and in view of the nature of the associations, they do not share profits but re-invest them into the activities of the housing. Responsibilities of a citizen The basic right of housing for a citizen is further broken down in the tenancy agreement the citizen enters into with the landlord which states the conditions of the tenancy.   The Housing Act 1988 with amendments up to 2004 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 protect the citizen from undue harassment, unfair charges and fraudulent practices and also ensure that the property is in good condition for occupancy and illegal evictions.   However, in order to fully enjoy the right to housing and the protection as contained in the Tenancy Agreement and the relevant Housing Acts, the citizen is required to fulfill some basic obligations.   The citizen has the obligation to act within the law by not engaging in criminal or immoral activities and also to behave in such manners that may not be regarded are against socially accepted corms within the neighbourhood or wider social environment.   Therefore, it can be said that one of the rights of a citizen is the right to housing and als o that one of the major responsibilities of the citizen is to carry on his/her daily activities of living in such a manner as to show behaviours that are against the neighbourhood in which he/she resides.   The term neighbourhood is described by Power (2007, p 17) as â€Å"local areas within towns and cities recognized by people who live there as distinct places, with their own character and approximate boundaries†.   The citizen is a member of the neighbourhood and his or her actions will impact all the members of the neighbourhood either directly or indirectly, in effect, the citizen is expected to maintain a pattern of behaviour for the interest of the general neighbourhood.   A pattern of behaviour that is not in line with the acceptable behaviours within a neighbourhood is known as anti social behaviour.   According to Rose (1996) citizens are considered to be responsible when they play their roles but in a situation that the moral lifestyle of such person is con trary, such person is considered a threat or reproach to the community.   According to Cowan and Marsh (2001, p 168) â€Å"the role of the law relevant here is through seeking to uphold particular standards of behaviour†.   In the UK, the law that seeks to uphold the standards of behaviours within the neighbourhood is the anti social behaviour contained in the Crime and Disorder Act (1996, 1998) and Ant Social Behaviour Act (2003). Anti Social Behaviours The Good Practice Unite of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH 1995, p3) defined antisocial behaviour as â€Å"behaviour that opposes society’s norms and accepted standards of behaviour†.   Also the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) described antisocial behaviour as acting â€Å"in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household†.   The Anti Social Behaviour Act (2003) identified various forms of behaviours found to be common and these include: noise nuisance; intimidation and/or harassments, littering and graffiti; being violent against neighbours and properties; hate behviours that target an ethnic or gender groups; and use of the property for unlawful business or other purposes. Causes Several reasons have been given by different researchers and organisations as to the reasons that lead to anti social behaviours.   Notable among the researchers are Hawkins, Catalano and Miller (1992) who identified risk factors and protective factors.  Ã‚   The risk factors involves certain issues of life that have the potential of making people act against the society such as poverty, family problems and problems that arise in the school.   The protective factors refer to the presence of some features that may discourage the individual from acting against the society such as bonding and community involvement.   The issues of risk and protective factors were further highlighted by the argument of Miller (2005) that neighbourhoods with high crime rate in most cases are traceable to poverty, deprivation and lack of involvement in the community in which the offender resides. Impacts Anti social behaviours has the likelihood of impacting on the members of the neighbourhood, properties and the individual that carries out the behaviour.   One of the impacts of antisocial behaviour on the neighbourhood is that it can make withdraw from public places within the area for fear of the safety of their lives thereby and also crumble the service provisions in that area (Rogers and Coaffee, 2005).   The Policy Action Team of the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU, 1998, p11) argued that â€Å"if housing is poorly managed or unlettable, or crime and anti social behaviour are not tackled, community support systems can easily crumble†.   Secondly, there is the possibility of reducing house prices in the area and increased cost of repairs and cleaning of graffiti as a result of vandalism (Brand and Price, 2000). Also, an area that is notorious for behaviours seen to be contrary to the accepted standards in the society may have a stigma which may make residents decide to relocate or prevent new ones moving in.   This problem of stigma was emphasised by Harworth and Manzi (1999, p 163) that there is â€Å"the stigma attached to public rented houses† and that this is the result of behaviours that are usually not in conformity with the accepted norms in the wider society.   In order to tackle the problem of anti social behaviour and reduce or eliminate its impacts on the neighbourhood and properties, Cowan and Marsh (2001) suggested the use of basic strategies such as housing management, legal tools and partnering with Social Exclusion Unit. Tackling Anti Social Behaviour in Housing Housing Management Cowan and Marsh (2001) suggested that in order to control the activities of those that perpetrate anti social behaviours, Landlords should control the access to houses by such individuals through the use of housing register.   This suggestion implies that those noted for their anti social behaviours should be excluded from having access to houses as a deterrent to others that would want to follow their bad examples.   The power for landlords to exclude those whose behaviours are deemed to be against the norms of the society in which they reside (anti social behaviour) is contained in the Part VI of the Housing Act (1996) and research by Smith (2001) found that this exclusion has reduced the rate of antisocial behaviours in most estates. In addition to the use of exclusion as a house management tool for deterrent and preventive measure for dealing with anti social behaviours, Landlords were empowered by the Housing Acts 1996 to adjust the tenancy agreement indicate repossession of properties.   In effect, the tenancy agreement fully describes the rights and responsibilities of both parties with particular respect to anti social behaviours and that the Landlord has the right of repossession if the tenant receives anti social behavioural order – an order for carrying out anti social behaviours.   On the effectiveness of the use of repossession as a deterrent, the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU, 2000, p 4) argued that â€Å"evicting anti social people does not mea that the problem will go away.   Some people will be deterred from future ant social behaviour by the experience of eviction or exclusion from the housing register†. Legal Tools The 1996 Housing Act further gave powers to Landlords (both Local Authorizes and Social Registered Landlords) to deal with their own tenants with respect to anti social behaviours.   This Act made individuals responsible for their own actions, those of their households and those of their visitors and empowered landlords to take possession of their properties in the event of anti social behaviour.   In applying this power, certain behaviours were banned by Landlords and where the tenant goes against those behaviours, a housing injunction is obtained from the court to arrest the offender.   Also the 1998 Housing Act introduced the use of Anti Social Behavioural Order (ASBO) by the police or landlords against offenders as long as they are above the age of 10.   Other legal tools include the use of 1996 Noise Act and 1990 Environmental Protection for noisy tenants and those houses not maintained by the tenants. Social Exclusion Unit Partnership While applying both the managerial and legal tools, Cowan and Marsh (2001) further suggested the use of partnership initiatives with the social exclusion unit by landlords and local authorities.   The Social Exclusion Unit works with communities, individuals and families to make sure that anti social behaviours are not breached and that to a greater extent avoid repeat or re – offending (SEU, 2000c).   Rather than punish those whose behaviours are anti social, through exclusion, repossession or injunction, the social exclusion unit partners with other relevant agencies to produce strategies in the forms of projects that to support the circumstances of the offender.   This process involves having a one to one meeting with the offender to identify the causes of the anti social behaviour and the outcome of the discussion forms the basis for suggesting possible support programs to assist the offender where appropriate.   The partnership with the social exclusion unit has a dditional advantage of making sure that those who are reacting as a result of their extra ordinary circumstances beyond their control are supported in overcoming such circumstances. Conclusion This project sought to find out about a citizen and how the rights and responsibilities of ‘a citizen’ relate with the current government policies on anti social behaviours.   During the course of the project, it was found that citizen describes a person who has the status or acquired the status of citizenship that is, having a form of relationship with the State.   Such relationships with the nation that has accorded that person the citizenship status usually comes with political, civil and social rights.   The social right of the citizen which formed the basic focus of this project includes the right to housing and being housed.   The right of the citizen to be provided with housing protects the citizen from being harassed, unfairly charged or exploited by landlords.   However, the right of the citizen to housing requires that the citizen keeps to the conditions of the tenancy agreement among which includes a condition not to act in a manner that will above o ther things constitute not conform to the norms of the society/neighbourhood – that is ant social. Furthermore, the project found that where the citizen acts anti social, it may result in crumbling of the service provisions within the neighbourhood (SEU, 1998), reducing house prices as the result of the stigma of crime and violence (Harworth and Manzi, 1999) and increasing cost of repairs and maintenance by the local authorities in cleaning graffiti.   In order to tackle the problem of antisocial behaviour, the project found 3 basic strategies as suggested by Cowan and Marsh (2001) and these include housing management, legal tools and partnership with the social exclusion unit.   Housing management uses seeks to exclude citizens with anti social behaviours from having access to housing and also repossessing their properties while the legal tool uses injunction.   The partnership with the social exclusion unit aims to address the circumstances that create the anti social behaviours of a citizen. Based on the findings during the course of this project, it can be seen that a citizen has a right to housing and that this right comes with responsibilities not to act anti social.   Therefore, the current government policy of anti social behaviour seeks to ensure that a citizen, enjoying the right to housing, complies with the responsibilities that come with the right to the housing being enjoyed.   The rights are received by the citizen; the responsibilities are the conditions for the rights and the anti social behavior policies ensure that the conditions are kept by the citizen. References Blackburn, R. (1994).   Rights of Citizenship.   London.   Mansell Publishing Ltd Catalano, R.F., Hawkins, J.D. (1996). The Social Development Model: A theory of antisocial behavior. In J.D. Hawkins (Ed.), Delinquency and Crime: Current Theories (pp. 149-197) New York: Cambridge CIH (1995).   Housing management standards manual. Coventry. CIH Cowan, D. and Marsh, A. (2001). Two steps forward:   Housing policy into the new millennium. UK.   Polity Press Hardy, H. (1997) ‘Citizenship and the Right to Vote’, 17 Oxford J Legal Stud 76 (1997). Hawkins J.D., Catalano R. F., Miller J. Y. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 64-105. Lewis, G. (2004).   Citizenship Lives Social Policy.   UK.   The polity Press Millie, A., Jacobson, J., Hough, M. and Paraskevopoulou, A. (2005a) Anti-social behaviour in London Setting the context for the London Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy, London: GLA Power, Anne (2007a) City Survivors. Bringing up children in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Bristol: The Policy Press. Rogers, P. and Coaffee, J. (2005) ‘Moral panics and urban renaissance: Policy, tactics and youth in public space’, City, 9(3) 321-340. Rose, N. (1996).   The death of the social?   Refiguring the territory of government, Economy and Society, vol 25, no 3, pp 282-99. Social Exclusion Unit (1998).   Bringing Britain together: A national strategy for neighbourhood renewal, Cm 4045, London:   The stationery Office. Social Exclusion Unit (2000a) Leaflet, London: Cabinet Office Smith, R., Stirling, T. Papps, P., Evans, A. and Rowlands, R. (2001).   Allocation and Exclusion:   The impact of new approach to allocating social housing, London: Shelter. The 1998 Crime and Disorder Act The 1996 Housing Act

Animal Liberation Front (ALF) - USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Animal Liberation Front (ALF) - USA - Essay Example According to media and other researchers, the group could not stand against criminal like activities that were being conducted in the name of animal liberation under the flag or ALF or any other name. During 2002 the department that is responsible for monitoring and controlling extremist like activities reported that ALF has used violent terrorist like activities for their operations and have cost billions by destroying property but have ensured that no human being is harmed 2. 1. Don Liddick,. Eco-terrorism: radical environmental and animal liberation movements. Westport, (Conn.: Praeger, 2006) 127. 2. Yonah Alexander and Michael Kraft (eds.). Evolution of U.S. counterterrorism policy. Westport, (Conn.: Praeger Security International, 2008) 241 - 250. During the period of 2005, homeland security department of US compiled a list of groups that may be a serious terrorist threat to US and within that list, ALF was even considered as a plausible terrorist threat and the US decided to us e its resources against their activities 2. The history of this group can be dated back to the end of 1963 when John Prestige, a British news reporter, gained the duty of viewing an event where hunters had to hunt a deer who was pregnant 3. He stood against this activity and formed HAS (Hunt Saboteurs Association); the aim of this association was to make sure that huntsmen fail in their act of hunting 3. Later, one of the group members named Ronnie Lee made his own group to help animals, this group comprised of young individuals who were against the act of animal brutality, and the group was recognized as the Band of Mercy 4. ALF came into existence and made its appearance when the founder of HAS was taken into defense officials custody for conducting a raid on the Oxford Laboratory Animal Colonies. People revolted against their arrest and later the founder was assigned imprisonment for three years from where he continued to pursue animal liberation by going on a hunger strike and d emanding for vegetarian food in jails 5. Later he was released on parole basis for 12 months; as soon as he gained freedom, he started his activities and to make the group look fiercer to others, he changed the name of the group from Band of Mercy to Animal Liberation Front 6. 3. Norm Phelps. The longest struggle: animal advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA. (New York: Lantern Books, 2007) 201 4. Margaret Pasewicz,. Cultural encyclopedia of vegetarianism. Santa Barbara, (CA: Greenwood, 2010) 27 5. Harvey Kushner, W. Encyclopedia of terrorism. Thousand Oaks,( Calif.: Sage Publications, 2003)10 6. Gus Martin,. The Sage encyclopedia of terrorism. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, (Calif.: SAGE Publications, 2011) 45 The group was not only active behind the walls, they even conducted their activities outside the wall, the group had no leader and group members had to follow the stated guidelines of the movement at all times. According to the movements guidelines, to increase economic cost of those who make revenues by manipulating animals, to provide freedom to animals from places where they were treated very badly, to publicize the harsh treatment animals had to go through, to ensure that no animal was being harmed and those individuals who were living in accordance to the constitution created by the movement were entitled as members of ALF even if they had not